Broken?
by hinatasgreatestfan
Summary: Naruto saves Sasuke from Itachi's Tsukuyomi, at the cost of enduring the jutsu himself. What differences will this spawn? NaruHina, SasuIno.
1. Brothers

Chapter 1

Naruto looked down the hall, his eyes full of fear and shock, as Sasuke slammed into the wall, leaving quite an indentation into it. He gasped when he saw Itachi move. No! He couldn't let Itachi kill Sasuke! _"I may not have always liked him, and he's still a jerk at times, but you know...he's my best friend! I can't let him die! I have to do something!"_ Naruto thought. He looked around quickly, wishing there was something nearby he could use, but there was nothing. He channeled his chakra.

Sasuke saw his brother coming at him, Mangekyo Sharingan active. _"I'm going to die. He's going to kill me,"_ Sasuke thought. Then he felt a very strong chakra being channeled from nearby and knew it had to be Naruto. It wasn't Itachi, and he doubted Kisame had that much chakra in him. Sasuke blinked, trying not to show his fear, and when he opened his eyes, he had to wonder if he was dreaming. His brother was no longer in front of him.

Jiraiya gasped when Naruto and Sasuke both disappeared in puffs of smoke. When said smoke disappeared, he was even more shocked to find that the two had switched places. Naruto was now in the wall where Sasuke had been with Itachi's eyes boring into his, while Sasuke was now standing in front of Jiraiya.

Kisame chuckled. "I've heard of falling into someone's hands, but come on, that kid is just too much," he commented.

Itachi was reaching to grab Naruto. Jiraiya had no choice. "SUMMONING JUTSU!" he yelled out. The building around them took on a fleshy appearance and absorbed Naruto into the wall. Jiraiya smirked at Itachi and Kisame, who took off running. Jiraiya and Sasuke followed.

Finding a hole in the wall surrounded by black flame, Jiraiya gasped. "They burned through the stomach of the mountain toad...and he can spit fire!" he said and spread a scroll on the ground and prepared to seal the black flames.

"A-A-Amaterasu," Sasuke said quietly. Jiraiya cast a questioning look at Sasuke. The Uchiha explained, "It's a jutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan. The black flames are inextinguishable and will burn through pretty much anything, as you've seen here. So far as I know, there's no way to put them out." Jiraiya nodded and continued making a seal on the scroll; moments later, the flames were gone and a symbol had appeared in the seal array, showing that they were sealed in the scroll.

Jiraiya released his summoned toad and lifted Naruto, who had reappeared from the wall, into his arms. "Damn delays!" he bemoaned. "Now we've got to go back to the village."

He would have continued, but at that moment, the two conscious ninja heard a call of "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Jiraiya just looked toward the sound in confusion, but Sasuke pushed him to one side, shocking the sage. Looking up, the white-haired man was shocked to see a man in green spandex standing where he had been but moments before and Sasuke once again planted into the wall from the man's kick.

Sasuke pulled himself out of the wall and snarled at Guy. "I know the old pervert deserves to be hit like that, but you could have hurt Naruto!" he raged. Guy had the decency to look sheepish as he explained he had used a mirror to see into the room; all he had seen was someone holding an unconscious Naruto, so he had moved without thinking to "save" the blond. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You really should make sure you know who you're attacking BEFORE leaping in like that, you know."

Guy flashed Sasuke a thumbs-up and a huge grin. "Indeed, most youthful student of my eternal rival, you speak words of great wisdom! I shall always remember them and strive to take them to heart and make your wisdom my own!" Guy said, grinning again afterward; Sasuke blinked when the man's teeth actually _flashed_.

"_No, no way, I did _not_ just see that,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. He shook his head to clear the image.

Jiraiya turned to Guy. "Actually, it might be a good thing you're here," he said. "Naruto here needs to get back to the village. Sasuke, too. And I need to get back on the road to find Tsunade." He handed Naruto over to Guy when suddenly Sasuke spoke up.

"Can Tsunade fix Naruto?" he asked.

"Well...I certainly hope so, for her sake," Jiraiya said darkly. "Kakashi and Lee, too, for that matter, but why do you ask?"

Sasuke thought for a moment. "In that case..." he nodded. "I'm going with you." Jiraiya looked like he was about to say something, to object, so Sasuke continued, "No one's ever sacrificed themselves for me like Naruto did just now. He's my best friend, knucklehead or not, and I am not going to just sit back and let him suffer while you're out peeping on bathhouses or something. I _am_ coming with you, we _will_ find Tsunade, and she _will_ come back with us and help Naruto if it means I have to drag her back myself."

"So you've made your choice, have you, Sasuke?" Jiraiya asked. Sasuke thought a moment, then nodded. "And your choice is to be loyal to your friends before you worry about revenge...good." Sasuke tried to glare at the white-haired man, but he couldn't quite manage it; the old pervert _was_ right, after all. Besides, Sasuke always did like to hear that he was doing something right.

"Well, fine then, let's get going," Sasuke said, turning to head out of the building, making sure to keep his head turned away from Jiraiya and Guy so the two wouldn't see that he was grinning from ear to ear. He shuddered slightly when he realized he probably looked just like Naruto at that moment.

Jiraiya handed Naruto to Guy, who took him gently. "Get him back to the village safely, Guy. If you don't, I'll be holding you personally responsible, and, trust me, you don't want that."

Guy nodded solemnly. "I will do as you say, Lord Jiraiya," he said. He turned and, within moments, was out of sight. Jiraiya smiled; it was good to see Guy could take things seriously when the situation called for it.

Turning toward the black-haired boy, Jiraiya found him with his fists clenched and his body shaking. He took a few steps toward him and heard the boy muttering, "Why, Naruto? Why did you do that? It was supposed to be me stuck in Tsukuyomi, not you!" he paused a moment, then continued, "Damn it Naruto!" Jiraiya interrupted the boy's rant by laying a heavy hand on his shoulder. Sasuke jumped, then turned and looked up at the old man.

"We will find Tsunade, and we will help Naruto," Jiraiya said, a look of fierce determination in his eyes.

Sasuke grinned. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "We will help Naruto. He wouldn't rest until he'd gotten help for me, so I won't rest until I get help for him." Jiraiya grinned at the boy's statement. Sasuke thought a moment, then asked, "Why do you care so much about getting help for him, though?"

Jiraiya turned sad eyes onto Sasuke's dark orbs. "He's my godson," he said. "I promised to take care of him when his parents died, but I was unable to fulfill that promise, so now, when he needs me most, I won't let him down."

Sasuke grinned. "No, Jiraiya, _we_ won't let him down," he said. Jiraiya grinned at the boy and nodded, granting the boy's point.

Clasping his shoulder in his huge hand, Jiraiya answered, "You're right, Sasuke, _we_ won't let Naruto down." That said, the two ninja headed off down the road in search of the greatest medical ninja to walk the earth, Tsunade Senju.

Naruto

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He blinked as he saw that everything around him was different. The last thing he remembered was substituting with Sasuke and finding himself eye-to-eye with Itachi. He sighed. _"Where am I now?"_ he asked himself. He looked around and found himself looking at Sakura, who had her back turned to him.

Sakura turned around and glared at Naruto. "WHY, NARUTO?" she yelled. She took a deep breath and forced herself to not yell. "Why didn't you bring Sasuke back to me?" She finally allowed her tears to show, at which Naruto felt his heart shatter; he hated to see Sakura in pain. This time was even worse, though, because Naruto knew this pain was _his_ fault, even though he had no idea what she was talking about; Sasuke hadn't gone anywhere!

Naruto blinked and the scene before him changed. This time he saw a much more grown-up Hinata on her knees crying her eyes out. "You promised..." she said. "You promised you'd come back safely...why did you have to choose that promise to break, Naruto?" As she spoke, Naruto realized that she was kneeling in front of a grave...he looked closer. It wasn't just any grave, it was _his_ grave!

Naruto gasped. "What in the world is this? I'm not dead, so why is Hinata crying at my grave?"

"This is my world," a voice spoke. Naruto recognized it after a moment as Itachi's. "And for the next seventy-two hours, you will see your greatest fears made real. You will be tortured mentally, physically, and spiritually until you break. I control your fate in here!"

Naruto spun to look in the direction he thought he heard Itachi speaking from only to look straight into Kakashi's Sharingan eye as he skewered him with a Chidori. "You deserve this, demon, now die like the dog you are," Kakashi said.

Naruto could still feel the electrical chakra from Kakashi's attack when he felt a second charge hit him from behind. This time it was Sasuke who snarled into his ear, "And now our bond is broken." Tears filled Naruto's eyes as he sank to the ground to allow himself to die. By the time he hit the ground, however, he found that his wounds had healed and he was fine.

Naruto looked around, no longer surprised that the scene had changed; this time, he found himself bound to a cross in the middle of Konoha's main square. Everyone he knew was looking at him in disgust. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi simply shook their heads before walking away and leaving him to his fate. Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba, who he'd thought of as friends even back in the Academy, were all laughing about how he "fell for it" and "really thought we were his friends". Shino just readjusted his glasses and said it was "logical to purge the village of the demon". By now, Naruto was sobbing openly; he didn't expect pity, nor did he receive it. Ino, near the back of the crowd, just tossed her hair before ignoring him completely; from where Naruto was, it looked like she was gossiping with someone.

Naruto looked around the crowd through tear-filled eyes, hoping to find Hinata there, hoping she wouldn't have abandoned him. There she was...looking at him and grinning. She was _laughing_ at him! Naruto felt his heart break; even Hinata, who had cried over his grave, had abandoned him? Then he heard her voice, so soft, usually so gentle. "And to think there was a day when I may have loved you...but that was before I found out what you really are. Demon!" she said, hate and scorn filling her voice. Naruto wished in that moment that whoever was doing all this would just kill him and let him escape this torture.

Itachi's voice sounded out, "You've only got seventy-one hours left." In that moment, Naruto despaired. He sobbed, he screamed, he covered his ears and closed his eyes, but somehow he could still both see and hear. Over the next several hours, though to Naruto it seemed like years, the blond witnessed his friends rejecting him repeatedly, saw each of them killed both in front of him and by him, saw his parents telling him they hated him and that he was a demon, and saw the three kunoichi of the Rookie Nine raped, beaten, and killed over and over again. He even saw Sasuke killed and his eyes stolen more than once. He lost count of how many times he screamed, how many times he cried, and how many times he wished for death.

Then Naruto began to see his own death. He saw it at the hands of strangers, at the hands of each and every person he knew in Konoha, at the hands of ninja, at the hands of civilians, even at the hands of a child on one occasion. After a while, Naruto just curled himself into a ball and sobbed, trying to ignore the terrible things he was being shown. One thing Naruto couldn't forget, though, was seeing the cold look everyone gave him in Hinata's eyes. For some reason, that one hurt the most.

Guy

The green-spandex-clad ninja entered the Leaf Village Hospital with Naruto hanging on his back. He called for a nurse, and one appeared after a moment. "Yes, Sir?" she said.

Guy gently brought Naruto down from his back and held him in front of his body. "This boy is suffering under an extremely powerful genjutsu," he said.

The nurse thought a moment, then turned and grabbed a gurney from nearby. Guy laid Naruto's limp body on it, and soon the nurse, Guy, and Naruto were in a room, Naruto hooked up to two IV drips and seemingly resting. The illusion would have been perfect had Naruto not whimpered and sobbed occasionally and had there not been tears falling from his eyes every few minutes.

"Whoever did this must really be upsetting him," the nurse commented. Guy nodded and sat down in a chair nearby. "Sir, I'm sorry, but you'll have to go."

Guy looked up at her. "Are you being held personally responsible for this boy's safety by Jiraiya of the Sannin?" he asked her. She looked confused, then shook her head. "Well, I am. So, sorry but, rules or not, I'm staying." The nurse looked annoyed, then eventually just nodded and left Guy to watch over Naruto.

Hinata

Hinata was making her way out of her clan compound that afternoon when she heard it. "Did you hear?" a voice asked from nearby. Hinata, being used to being unnoticed, moved closer so she could hear. "I guess that weird Jonin Might Guy just got back to the village carrying the demon brat on his back. From what I heard, it looked like the brat was hurt really bad! Maybe we'll finally be rid of him!"

Hinata thought about what she'd heard for a few minutes. Then, "NARUTO!" she yelled and took off toward the hospital at a run, knowing Guy-sensei would take the boy there if he was really in as bad of shape as the people she'd heard seemed to think.

Arriving at the hospital, Hinata took a moment to catch her breath, then turned to the young woman at the reception counter. "Naruto Uzumaki," she said, her manner demanding an answer. "Where is he?"

The young woman flipped through her charts. "He's in room 312," she said. She was about to add that Hinata couldn't go there, but she didn't get a chance; Hinata was already out of sight.

Hinata opened the door to room 312. She looked in and saw Naruto laying on the bed; then she got a shock: Guy-sensei himself was still in the room. The girl turned her eyes onto the man who had brought Naruto here. "Guy-sensei," she said. The man turned to her, magnificent eyebrows raised, eyes questioning. "What happened to Naruto? Why is he in the hospital?" Hinata's voice, though quiet, brooked no argument and _demanded_ that Guy tell her what she wanted to know.

Guy spent the next twenty minutes explaining what he knew: that Naruto had saved Sasuke from Itachi and gotten hit with some kind of genjutsu as a result, that Jiraiya and Sasuke were still out there looking for Tsunade to help Naruto, and that Jiraiya was holding Guy himself responsible for Naruto's safety until the Sannin himself could return. Hinata sat back and absorbed this, a grim look on her face.

"And so now you're staying here to make absolutely sure nothing happens to Naruto until Jiraiya, Sasuke, and Tsunade get back, right?" she asked. Guy nodded. "All right, then I shall stay with you."

Guy smiled. "You care for him deeply, don't you?" he asked. Hinata blushed, but nodded. Guy's eyes filled with tears that quickly fell down his face. "Oh, the glories of YOUTH!" he shouted. "It has been far too long since I've seen such youthful passion and love for another as you have displayed here today, young Hinata! Hold to that, work with all your might, and one day, your dreams will be yours!"

Hinata smiled at the Jonin's antics. "Thank you, Guy-sensei," she said softly.

Guy smiled and rested a strong hand on Hinata's shoulder. She looked up at the man, questions in her eyes. "Let us work together to keep an eye on Naruto until Master Jiraiya returns, all right?" he said.

Hinata smiled and nodded, then looked at Guy with a worried look on her face. "Do you really think it's necessary to keep an eye on him, Guy-sensei?"

Guy shook his head. "Not really, no, but Jiraiya is holding me personally responsible for Naruto's safety until he returns, so I'd _much_ rather be safe than sorry," he said. Hinata seemed to accept that and nodded again. Guy breathed a sigh of relief; now he wouldn't have to stay awake for two weeks straight...or however long Jiraiya took to get back to the village.


	2. Hopes and Fears

Chapter 2

Hinata opened her eyes and looked around groggily. The first thing she saw was a woman with long blond hair leaning over Naruto, her hands glowing green. Then she saw Guy walking around the room, a worried look on his face. As Hinata watched, Naruto opened his eyes and slowly sat up and looked around. Upon seeing Hinata, Naruto gasped, then screamed, then bolted out of the room, yelling about how Hinata "wants to kill me!"

"Naruto!" Hinata gasped out, sitting up straight. She looked around, eyes wide, slowly realizing that it had just been a nightmare.

Guy-sensei, sitting nearby with an exhausted look on his face, gave Hinata a tired smile. "Another of those crazy dreams, eh?" he asked. Hinata nodded. "Don't worry, Hinata, if I know Naruto, the last thing you have to worry about is him doing something to hurt you. He's more likely to worship the ground you walk on for looking over him like this than he is to hurt you or fear you."

Hinata bowed to Guy. "Thank you, Guy-sensei," she said softly. "Now, please, get some sleep, I'll keep watch for a while." The tired man nodded and, settling himself slightly more comfortably in his chair, was soon asleep. Hinata was surprised the man slept so quietly, but she wasn't about to complain. Pulling her chair up to the side of Naruto's bed, the shy girl gently took his hand in hers and stroked it, hoping to comfort him. "No matter what happens, Naruto, I'll always be here for you from now on," she said quietly, wishing he could hear her. "I promise."

Sasuke

Sasuke looked around the small village where he and Jiraiya found themselves at the moment. "This is just another town with a bunch of brothels, old man," he said cynically. "Why would Tsunade be here?"

Jiraiya snickered and pointed at a building to Sasuke's left. "See that place?" At Sasuke's nod, Jiraiya continued, "Tsunade is known as the Legendary Sucker, and with good reason. That place is one of the most well-known gambling halls for miles. If we're going to find Tsunade or anyone who's seen her recently, we couldn't ask for a better place to start looking than one just like that."

Sasuke thought about that a moment. "So you mean to tell me that while we're out here trying to save my friend's life, this woman could be out here gambling away her money?" he asked, a sour look on his face. Jiraiya nodded grimly. Sasuke fell silent, his glare intensified. Jiraiya smiled slightly; the boy had reason to be annoyed, but his sulking still struck the white-haired pervert as hilarious.

Sasuke sighed. "All right, let's get this over with," he said. Jiraiya nodded, and the two entered the gambling hall Jiraiya had pointed out to Sasuke before.

Naruto

Naruto had long since stopped sobbing; he had no tears left to cry, it seemed. Now he simply lay curled in a ball, arms around his legs, shaking and wishing it would end. Even if it meant his death, at that precise moment, he didn't care, just so long as the torture ended.

Then he heard it. "I'll always be here for you from now on," Hinata's voice said. "I promise." Naruto thought at first that this was just part of the genjutsu, meant to make the coming tortures worse, but then he saw the look of shock and worry "Itachi" had on his face at that moment. That told him that the voice was, somehow, real, and Hinata had just said that to him. Naruto would likely never know it, but her voice had just saved him from the worst tortures Itachi had meant to bestow upon him in this torture-ridden genjutsu world.

Naruto faced "Itachi" with a newfound grim determination in his eyes. Itachi sighed. "Well, Naruto, it seems the tortures I had planned originally will no longer work. I'll have to show you a new one, then," he said, after which his body seemed to simply fade away. Naruto groaned; a new horror surely awaited him now.

The next thing Naruto saw was a very detailed recreation of what Itachi had shown Sasuke so many years ago, Itachi killing off the Uchiha clan. Unlike Sasuke, though, Naruto was shown something else. Itachi approached a man who had been standing in the background all along. Said man was tall and spindly, wore an orange swirl mask and a black cloak adorned with red clouds, and, Naruto saw, possessed the Sharingan!

Itachi's voice spoke. "Madara Uchiha," he said. "The arrogant fool, he goaded me on to destroy my clan. He was the one who wanted the clan gone, not to destroy Sasuke, as some may think, but because they refused to go along with his plans and take over the Leaf Village. What Madara never knew is they were in fact making plans to go through with his stupid coup, I told him they refused! Then, to prevent them from going through with it, I was ordered to destroy them. I regret doing it everyday, but there's nothing I can do now. Not for them anyway. But maybe...maybe you, Naruto, can do something for Sasuke. Point him to the true object of his vengeance, your precious Leaf Village! Yes, Naruto, the order came from the Leaf Village!"

As the voice stopped, Naruto saw Itachi speaking to the Third Hokage and three older people. As the Third walked away, seemingly thinking hard, the dark-haired man of the group spoke to Itachi. "You will destroy them, Itachi," he spoke. His voice was gruff but also cold and calculating. Naruto hated it instinctively. "The Third Hokage will never order this, he is a peace-loving fool, but I will order it. Destroy your clan before they destroy us all."

Itachi bowed. "Yes, Lord Danzo," he said simply before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto's entire world seemed to shatter at that moment. The village he had always believed in, trusted in, and thought to be all that was good...was a freaking sham! At least the Old Man, the Third Hokage, wasn't the one behind it. But still...the leaders of the village had ordered the decimation of an entire clan, and why? To protect their own FUCKING power! Naruto's rage at the old man, Danzo Itachi had called him, came to a boil. Naruto leaned his head back and roared at the injustice of it all. As his rage became more and more potent, Naruto was surrounded by a cloak of red chakra. As it took on the appearance of a fox and sprouted a single tail, everything in Naruto's vision went black. The Kyubi, unable to completely snap Naruto out of Tsukuyomi, had done the next best thing: Naruto was now unconscious and would spend the next several days as such, waiting for the arrival of Tsunade.

Hinata

Shortly after she spoke, Naruto's entire body seemed to stiffen, then convulse. A short time later, his body was cloaked in red chakra! Just when she was about to panic and waken Guy-sensei, he stiffened again, then the red chakra vanished, and Naruto seemed to finally be really resting. His body, stiff and tense before, was now relaxed. He seemed to be simply sleeping rather than suffering now.

Wishing she could believe she had somehow helped her long-time crush, Hinata took his hand in both of hers again and, laying her head on his chest, closed her eyes. Within minutes, she was asleep as well. Despite the slight cramp in her back caused by the position in which she rested, Hinata hadn't slept so well or so soundly in years. Unbeknownst to her, her slight shift in breathing awakened the green-clad Jonin. Surprisingly, he remained quiet as he simply smiled at the scene before him. _"I won't wake her,"_ he thought.

Sasuke

Sasuke and Jiraiya were getting frustrated by now. The only tip they'd gotten claimed that Tsunade was somewhere in town, but no one knew exactly where. "Come on, Sasuke," Jiraiya said, heading for a bar nearby. "Let's get something to eat and continue this search tomorrow."

Sasuke just nodded, too tired for once to even argue. He and the Sannin had been searching this damn town all day long, and there had been no sign of the Legendary Sucker. Not watching where he was going, Sasuke suddenly bumped into something. Looking up, all he could see was the back of Jiraiya's red cloak. "Um...Jiraiya?" he said, trying to figure out why the man had stopped so suddenly.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, was pointing at someone in the back corner, mouth dropped open in shock. Sasuke followed the pointing finger and saw a woman, blond hair in pigtails, a diamond on her forehead, appearing to be about thirty. Sasuke was about to say something more when Jiraiya burst out, "TSUNADE!" Sasuke looked at the object of Jiraiya's shock and had to reevaluate everything he'd been thinking about this "Tsunade" character.

"This...is the great medical ninja Tsunade Senju?" he said to no one in particular. Her brown eyes showed experience, he had to grant that, but the rest...he just had to say it. "Hn, she doesn't look like much."

Tsunade got up very slowly, glaring at Sasuke. Sasuke was surprised to feel a small amount of Killing Intent being directed at him. Looking at the rising woman, Sasuke saw a vein in her forehead twitching. _"Hm, her forehead's even bigger than Sakura's,"_ he thought to himself. He had the intelligence to keep his thoughts to himself this time, though.

Tsunade walked over to the black-haired brat who dared insult her. "You don't think I look like much, huh?" she said, bending down and looking the kid in the eye. Sasuke, to his credit, stood his ground. He just looked her in the eye, not flinching, not moving. "All right then, come on...kid." That said, she turned and stalked outside into the street. Sasuke, curious, followed. Tsunade watched the dark-haired boy walk outside and had to give a small smile at him. _"He's cocky, but he's at least got the nerve to stand up to me. Gotta give the kid credit, he's got guts,"_ she thought to herself.

"Tsunade," Sasuke spoke, falling into a battle stance. Tsunade just raised an eyebrow at him. She wasn't used to being addressed so informally. "You will come back with Jiraiya and me to the Leaf Village." And she certainly wasn't used to being _ordered_ to do _anything_ she didn't want to do, especially by some half-pint brat.

"I think not, kid," she said. "Why would I return to that hellhole of a village? There's nothing left for me there."

"Hn," Sasuke said eloquently. "Believe me, Tsunade, I know how you feel, there's nothing much left for me there either. But there is one thing, and for that one thing...well, that one person, really, I will drag you back to that village kicking and screaming if I have to. You _will_ come back with us, and you _will_ help him!"

Tsunade, taken aback by the boy's comment, paused. "Who...is this one person? And why would I need, or, more importantly, want to help him?"

Sasuke straightened himself slightly when he saw Tsunade wasn't going to attack him at that moment. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki," he said. Tsunade stiffened in recognition of the name. "He suffers under the effects of Tsukuyomi, cast by my older brother, Itachi Uchiha, meant for me, Sasuke Uchiha. He suffers for saving me from the foul effects of that dark jutsu of the Sharingan Itachi and I share. Naruto is my true brother, even if our relation is not by our blood. He saved me, and now, I _will_ save him. If, as Jiraiya has told me, you are the only one who can heal him of these effects, I will drag you back, no matter the cost, even if that cost is my own life!"

Tsunade had to stop and re-think her position on this. The kid seemed deadly serious about giving up his own life to take her back, and she had no reason to kill the kid. Plus, the name he mentioned...Naruto Uzumaki...she knew that name. She never thought she'd hear it again, but oh, did she know that name! Turning to Jiraiya, she queried, "He lived?" Jiraiya simply nodded. "So now he's under Itachi's Tsukuyomi...so he got the Mangekyo Sharingan, huh?" At this one, Sasuke nodded grimly. Turning to Jiraiya, Tsunade growled, "But that's not the whole story, is it?"

"Indeed it isn't, Tsunade," he said. "Our old teammate paid a visit to the Leaf Village not long ago. Our sensei is gone, and the council of elders sent me to retrieve you to be the Fifth Hokage." From the lack of surprise she saw in the Uchiha kid, Tsunade surmised that he knew about that beforehand.

"All right," she said, her voice resigned. "I'm not coming back to be Hokage, but I'll come and take a look at Naruto at least." Then she glared at Sasuke. "We'll finish this later, kid."

When the three rejoined Shizune a few minutes later, the dark-haired medic looked from one to another, confusion evident in her eyes when she saw that Sasuke was unharmed. She met Tsunade's eyes and got another shock: her teacher's eyes were full of pain. "We're going back," Tsunade said.

Shizune gasped. "Back...to the Leaf Village?" she asked. Tsunade nodded. "Why? I mean, I'm glad, but why now, after all these years?"

Tsunade buried her face in her hands. "He's alive, Shizune," she said. "Naruto...he's alive!"

Shizune looked at Tsunade in shock. "You mean...Kushina's son?" she asked. Tsunade nodded, her face still buried in her hands to hide the tears that were spilling from her eyes. "My cousin...my cousin is alive!" Then she looked at Tsunade in confusion. "What does that have to do with why we're going back, though? Beyond the obvious, I mean."

Tsunade gestured for Sasuke to explain. "He saved me," Sasuke said quietly. "I was having a fight with my older brother, and Naruto took an attack for me. He's now suffering the consequences of it..." he trailed off, the guilt too much to handle all at once.

"What attack?" Shizune asked.

"Tsukuyomi," Sasuke responded. Shizune looked confused. "It's a jutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan. It's a genjutsu and can last for months if the caster so chooses and shows the victim anything the caster chooses to show. The caster controls time itself within the world of the Tsukuyomi, so a single second of torture can last for what will feel like years to the victim. It's the worst kind of torture imaginable." Everyone could hear the fear and pain in the young Uchiha's voice as he spoke of the jutsu. It didn't take Shizune or Tsunade long to guess that Sasuke had suffered under the effects of this jutsu himself. Both shuddered at the thought.

Trying to lighten the mood a little, Jiraiya spoke. "All right, now that that's settled, let's all get some sleep so we can head back to the Leaf Village early tomorrow. I've got a lot of research to catch up on," he said. The last part was said with a slight snicker, which earned him a glare from everyone present.

Shizune was the first to respond to Jiraiya. "I can't believe you! My third cousin is laying in a hospital bed, suffering, and you're talking about peeping on women in bathhouses! He may only be my third cousin, but you know what, he's the closest family I have left and I'll be _damned_ if you leave him to suffer like that while you perform your perverted "research"! And I don't care if you are one of the Sannin, I will truss you up like a pig and drag you back to the village with us if I have to!" she ranted.

For the first time since the four humans had encountered one another, the small creature following Shizune made herself known. "OINK!" she screeched indignantly. Apparently Tonton, Shizune's pet pig, didn't much care for her choice of metaphor.

That loud oink broke the tension at long last, and everyone burst into nervous giggles. The giggles eventually evolved into full-on laughter and all four found themselves bent over at the waist, laughing until tears fell from their eyes. It was a very tense laugh, but all four of them had needed it desperately nonetheless. Even Sasuke, who couldn't remember the last time he had laughed at all, much less like that, felt better afterward.

None of the four of them slept well that night. Sasuke in particular was up at three the following morning and went out to train for an hour or so. When he returned, he was surprised to find the other three waiting for him. Grabbing his bag, the small group departed the town and hit the road back toward the Leaf Village.

Hinata

Awaking slowly, Hinata was surprised to find herself sitting with her head on Naruto's chest, one of his hands clasped in her own, and a major cramp in her back. Sitting up, she slowly got her bearings, then, remembering where she was, saw that Guy-sensei was smiling at her. "Oh, Guy-sensei, I am so sorry!" she began, then stopped when the green-clad man held up a hand for silence.

"It's all right, young Hinata," he said. "I awoke shortly after you fell asleep, and no harm has come to our young charge, so no harm done. Did you sleep well? No nightmares this time?"

Hinata blushed slightly at the caring, if slightly tactless, question. "No, no nightmares, thank you, Guy-sensei. I slept very well," she said. Then, smiling at Naruto, she resumed her quiet vigil over her crush. Guy smiled at her, glad the next generation of ninja in his village was turning out so well. Hinata and Guy maintained a silent vigil that whole day, neither moving except when necessary to eat or attend their bodily functions and neither speaking a single word.

Jiraiya

"We need to make camp," Jiraiya said. The sun was setting on the small group. They had traveled far and fast that day. Now it was late and they needed rest.

"All right," Sasuke said grudgingly. He hated to admit it, but he was exhausted.

As the four set up their camp, aided at moments by Tonton, who Sasuke was surprised to find was remarkably intelligent, none of them spoke. Just as Sasuke was putting the final touches on the final tent, a sound reached him.

"Kukukuku," a creepy voice laughed. Sasuke turned quickly, recognizing the voice. Sure enough, Orochimaru stood there, a creepy grin on his face as he contemplated Sasuke. "So, Sasuke, you have sought me out, as I always said you would. It would seem your timing is perfect. I am in dire need, and you are the perfect solution to my problem!"


	3. The Sannin Return to the Leaf

Chapter 3

Sasuke snarled. "What makes you think I'm here looking for you, you creep?" he asked Orochimaru. "I'm here looking for Tsunade to help my friend, I want nothing to do with you or your power!"

Orochimaru couldn't quite cover up his surprise at this declaration. "Oh well, no matter, you're here, and your timing, as I said before, is perfect, so why you're here exactly doesn't really matter," he told the Uchiha. "As you can see, this body no longer meets my requirements, so I'll be taking yours!"

Sasuke assumed a fighting stance. "I don't think so," he said simply. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune joined the boy, each in battle stances.

Kabuto, who was standing beside Orochimaru, entered his own battle stance. "Lord Orochimaru needs your body as his new vessel, Sasuke," the glasses-wearing ninja said. "And what Lord Orochimaru needs, he gets." At his words, Orochimaru nodded once, and Kabuto bit his thumb. Spreading his blood down Orochimaru's arm, Kabuto ran through a series of hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!" he called out.

A puff of smoke appeared at the young medic's words. When it cleared, Sasuke was shocked to see a giant snake, much like the one that attacked his team in the Forest of Death, looking down at him with Kabuto and Orochimaru standing on its head.

"What is the meaning of this, Orochimaru?" the snake hissed out. "You know I don't like to be summoned!"

"Please, don't be angry, Lord Manda," Kabuto answered. "I'm sure you will be adequately repaid for your assistance."

Manda, as the snake was apparently called, was in no mood to be toyed with. In the blink of an eye, its tail flew up and slammed Kabuto off his head and to the ground, where the traitorous medic remained, unconscious. "You could never repay _me!"_ Manda hissed out. Then, to the summoner still on his head, he said irritably, "I will expect a hundred human sacrifices when this is over, Orochimaru." Orochimaru simply nodded.

Sasuke smirked. "Don't bank on it, snake. He won't be around to give you any sacrifices after today!" he yelled. The snake and his summoner turned at the voice, only to see Gamabunta and Katsuyu before them, each with their respective summoner standing upon them.

Manda laughed. "This might be fun," he hissed out.

Gamabunta laughed as well, from deep in his belly. "Oh, this is rich!" he cried out. "Jiraiya, would you care to explain how this one happened? How the hell did the old crew ever end up together again? And who is this kid here? I thought your apprentice was your godson!"

Jiraiya snarled, but he got the message. The toad wouldn't have mentioned _that_ in front of the snake Sannin if he intended to let said snake live to see another day. "He is, but let's talk about all that later," Jiraiya responded to the toad. "We have business to attend to here!"

Tsunade voiced her agreement from atop Katsuyu. "Yes, indeed. The business of making sure that after today there is one less Sannin!" she said, her anger and hatred for the snake clear in her voice.

Orochimaru appeared to be pondering what Gamabunta had said. "Oh, I see," he said. "So that's why you took that worthless Genin as your apprentice, is it, old friend? Still got that same old soft spot, I see. Now, though, it won't matter. You have something I want, and I intend to have it!"

Jiraiya looked down at Sasuke. "Sasuke!" he called down. Sasuke looked up at the toad sage, eyes curious. "Don't get anywhere near him. He'll take over your body if you do."

Sasuke nodded, then Tsunade called down, "Shizune!" Said assistant looked up at the slug summoner. "Get Sasuke back. We don't need to be worrying about you two, and you'll just get in the way here!"

Shizune nodded, then grabbed Sasuke by one arm and dragged him back out of the way of the three huge summons and their summoners. Sasuke snarled about it, but he didn't really resist; even he could see Tsunade's words were true. Turning to his companion, Sasuke asked, "Shizune, do you know any wind techniques?" When Shizune nodded, the Uchiha grinned. "Good. I've got an idea."

While the two plotted, Tsunade and Jiraiya glared at their old teammate, rage and hatred obvious on both their faces. Orochimaru chuckled. "Good plan, now I don't have to hold back for fear of hurting my next body!" he told them. Neither of the two loyal Sannin had thought of _that_, but neither showed any concern about it, either. Orochimaru looked down at Manda and commented, seemingly idly, "I've always wondered what toad meat tasted like."

Manda gave a slight hiss, then the large snake moved. It was shockingly fast, given how massive the animal was. It moved toward Gamabunta first, but the toad saw him coming and blocked his bite with his blade, which he had drawn so fast no one saw it happen. The huge snake was pushed back, and the toad swung his blade, nicking the snake on the side as it nimbly dodged the relatively slow attack.

Next, Manda's tail swung at Tsunade, who dodged the attack by jumping onto the snake's body. As she ran up the snake's back, Katsuyu was ensnared within the snake's coils. He kept enough of his body free to keep trying to attack the large toad, only using two coils to hold the slug in place. Tsunade grinned. Just as she'd planned. Just as she reached the snake's head she turned to Katsuyu and said simply, "NOW!"

As Tsunade began to attack Orochimaru with punch after punch, which the snake summoner dodged with infuriating ease, the huge slug exploded into thousands of smaller slugs. Most of the slugs fell to the ground and began making their way back to where Tsunade had been. Some, however, landed on the snake itself and began spewing acid on the snake's body. Manda hissed loudly in pain as the acid began to burn him.

Jiraiya yelled, "TSUNADE!" The legendary kunoichi looked at him for a split second. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Unfortunately, Orochimaru used her distraction to attack himself. Tsunade found herself held aloft by the snake Sannin's _tongue_.

Orochimaru threw his head, sending Tsunade flying around, his long tongue wrapped around her neck and getting tighter as he moved. He snarled. "Anyone else would be dead by now! Why aren't you?" he commented, which sounded really weird with his tongue the way it was.

Tsunade growled at herself, then reached up and managed to get her hands between her neck and the appendage around it. Gripping the fleshy thing, she yanked. Orochimaru, not having expected her to do _that_, lost his balance and tumbled from Manda's head. Tsunade pulled again on his tongue and threw a punch at the same time, which caused the snake summoner's face to collide with her fist _hard_.

Tsunade grinned and began to pummel the snake's face, punch after punch landing hard on his jaws. Surprisingly, the snake summoner seemed to take little damage from her furious assault. With one more attack, she sent the man flying toward the ground, then yanked him back up and punched him once more, hard, using his tongue again to throw him around.

Free of Orochimaru, Tsunade leapt backward. Jiraiya and Gamabunta, who had been fending off Manda while Tsunade pummeled Orochimaru, pushed the snake back and let loose a collaboration jutsu. Gamabunta spewed oil, which Jiraiya lit with a fire jutsu. The result was a mobile explosion, which slammed into Manda hard. Jiraiya took a deep breath and commented, "There's no way he'll be that easy." Sure enough, once the smoke cleared, Jiraiya and Gamabunta saw a charred skin on the ground, which was rapidly crumbling. "I thought not, but where is he now?"

As if in answer to the toad sage's question, Manda's tail shot from the ground and wrapped itself around Gamabunta's body. The toad attempted to slice at the snake, but Manda's head showed itself and bit the blade, yanking it from the toad's grip. The blade was sent flying and landed a short distance away. The huge snake turned and was about to make a bite for the toad when Tsunade's loud roar was heard. She came from above, Gamabunta's blade in her grip. The snake tried to dodge, but Tsunade's blow landed, severing the huge serpent's head. Tsunade turned her attention up to Jiraiya. "One down, one to go," she commented. Jiraiya nodded with a smirk.

Just then, Jiraiya noticed that Kabuto was coming around. "I think not," he said, forming a Rasengan quickly, which he plowed into the medic's head. The silver-haired boy's head exploded from the sheer force of chakra being plowed into him. "You're a medic, heal that," Jiraiya told Kabuto, grinning slightly. The medic's body simply fell to the ground, never to rise again.

Just then, Orochimaru rose from the ground where he'd landed after Tsunade's vicious attack. With a snarl, he launched himself at Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were about to attack him when a huge amount of chakra came from behind the snake summoner. Rather than attacking, they dodged what they assumed was an attack meant for them. A huge fireball flew at the snake Sannin and engulfed him. Unable to use jutsu to escape, the snake Sannin burned in the chakra-powered flame. As his final screams were heard, Shizune and Sasuke emerged from the small hill where they had been hiding.

Jiraiya turned to the two and asked, "What in the world was that?"

Sasuke answered, "When we saw him launching at you like that, I knew it was our best chance at hitting him, so Shizune used a wind jutsu to enhance my Fireball Jutsu. You saw the results."

Tsunade nodded. She and Jiraiya turned to their respective traveling companions and nodded, acknowledging a job well done. Jiraiya sealed Orochimaru and Kabuto's bodies into a scroll, then the group of four turned to leave the battlefield. They weren't about to camp there, not after that. They moved a short distance down the road they'd been following and made camp for the night. They would be back in the Leaf Village in two days' time.

xxxxxx

Sasuke, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Tsunade had returned. Hinata had been waiting in Naruto's room when the procession of four people and one pig entered. Gasping at the sight of Tsunade, Hinata moved aside quickly, knowing this woman was the only one who could bring Naruto out of the coma he had been in for almost a week now.

Turning to the dark-haired boy, Hinata asked him while gesturing at Naruto, "What happened?" Sasuke gave her a brief overview of how Naruto had gotten into the Tsukuyomi in the first place, then related how he and Jiraiya had gone in search of Tsunade, found her, and convinced her to come back to look at Naruto. He left out the part where Jiraiya told Tsunade they wanted her to be the Fifth Hokage, knowing somehow that Hinata wouldn't care about that.

Hinata pondered, then commented to Sasuke, "You owe him big, don't you?" Sasuke nodded; he was fully well aware just _how much_ he owed Naruto for this one. Hinata sighed. "I hope he's still...himself when he wakes up."

Sasuke rested a hand on Hinata's shoulder. Hinata looked up at him, confusion evident in her eyes. "I remember when Itachi used this jutsu on me, years ago," he said quietly. "It nearly broke my soul. I believed after that that the only thing left for me was hatred and revenge. It wasn't until I got put on Team Seven with Naruto that I realized there was more than that, that I could have friends and be happy again. I spent years alone, isolated, with no one and nothing to care about." He shuddered, looking at Naruto. "I don't even want to think what would have happened to me if I'd been stuck in Tsukuyomi _again."_ He paused a moment, then, sighing, turned to Hinata again. His hand on her shoulder squeezed slightly. "I believe you can be for Naruto what no one was for me, Hinata. You can be his anchor, the one to bring him back to himself. I'll help him, too, any way I can, but I know I can't bring him back on my own. He'll need someone to love and care for, and, Hinata, you'll have to be it. _I believe in you, Hinata._ I believe you can do it." Pulling back from her and releasing her from his grip, he gave a slight smile and concluded, "And who knows, just maybe you'll earn his love in the process."

Hinata blushed a crimson that would make blood seem dull in comparison. She answered Sasuke quietly, "Thank you, Sasuke." With that, the two turned to check on Naruto.

Tsunade was hovering over the blond's body, her hands glowing green. She was breathing slowly, deeply. As she continued her work of exterminating the foreign chakra in Naruto's body, her forehead beaded with sweat. Hinata watched in trepidation as the legendary medical ninja worked hard on her long-time crush. Sasuke's words to her kept echoing in her head. _"I believe in you, Hinata,"_ he had said. Hinata felt the pressure of those words like a two-ton weight. Sasuke was placing his trust in _her._ He was taking a gamble on her. He was entrusting Naruto's future...to _her!_ It was a weight so young a girl should never have had to bear.

Hinata sighed deeply and thought to herself, _"Yes, I will help Naruto return to himself. I will make him happy again. I will help him forget whatever awful things he experienced in there. I _will_ show him that the future can be good, happy, and full of love. I will be there for him, always. I WILL!"_

Sasuke watched in awe as Hinata drew herself up and gained a look of such fierce determination that he couldn't help but think of Naruto. He chuckled. _"They'll be just fine,"_ he thought to himself.

Sasuke and Hinata both focused on the hospital bed just then as they heard Naruto let out a loud groan. Tsunade and Shizune both let out small sighs of relief. Naruto sat up, shook his head like he was in pain, and looked around, blinking. Hinata froze as her and Naruto's eyes met...his blue eyes, once so full of life and joy, were blank, cold, and empty...


	4. Returning to Life

Recap no Jutsu!

_Sasuke watched in awe as Hinata drew herself up and gained a look of such fierce determination that he couldn't help but think of Naruto. He chuckled. _"They'll be just fine,"_ he thought to himself._

_Sasuke and Hinata both focused on the hospital bed just then as they heard Naruto let out a loud groan. Tsunade and Shizune both let out small sighs of relief. Naruto sat up, shook his head like he was in pain, and looked around, blinking. Hinata froze as her and Naruto's eyes met...his blue eyes, once so full of life and joy, were blank, cold, and empty..._

Chapter 4

As Naruto's blank, cold gaze swept the room, his eyes fell on Hinata, who was staring into his eyes in shock. For a brief second, his eyes gained their old life, and Naruto reached out and pulled Hinata to him, hugging her. He whispered into her ear, "Thank you, Hinata." Pulling back, he smiled at her briefly, but the smile didn't _quite_ reach his eyes, which hadn't quite gone back to the lifeless look they'd had at first, but they hadn't retained the joy seeing Hinata had briefly brought to them, either. Hinata was watching Naruto closely, her worry obvious to everyone in the room.

After a moment, Tsunade stepped forward. "Hinata, could you step back, please? I need to examine him," she said. Hinata nodded and moved aside. She stood beside Sasuke and watched as Tsunade ran her glowing green hands over Naruto. Having given him a thorough examination, she turned to everyone in the room. "Well, physically, he's fine." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at that. Then, more softly, she added, "But I can't really vouch for his mental health at the moment...only time will tell how stable _that_ is."

Guy, who had been sitting quietly in one of the chairs in the room, leapt to his feet at Tsunade's words and flashed everyone a nice-guy pose. "We will all work together to rekindle the flames of Naruto's youth!" he said excitedly.

Tsunade sighed and rolled her eyes at Guy's exuberance. "It may not be that simple, Guy. When someone has been through what I can only assume Naruto has, the more effort those around him make to bring him back to himself, the worse he can get at times. Frankly, if the look in his eyes when he woke up is any indication, I hope and pray none of us ever has to go through what he has," she said seriously. "Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't try to help him, we should and will, but we _must_ be careful."

Guy nodded seriously, taking the woman's words to heart. Hinata, who had been listening to Tsunade's words closely, moved back to Naruto's side and took his hand gently. Tsunade smiled briefly at the two, then turned to the others. "I gather the council wanted to speak to me?" she asked. Now that her first concern was dealt with, she was ready to see what they wanted.

Jiraiya stepped forward. "Yes, they did. I'll take you to them," he said softly. It was obvious to anyone who knew the white-haired man that something about what he had seen recently had changed him. He gave off a much more serious air than he ever had before. Tsunade nodded, and the two loyal Sannin departed the hospital room and made their way to the council chambers, leaving Naruto and Hinata to have some time to themselves. Shizune, meanwhile, made her way out of the room and to the nearby nurse's station to see if she could be of use while Tsunade took care of her business with the council.

"What happened to you in that genjutsu?" they heard Hinata asking Naruto as they left. No one noticed Guy slipping out of the room; he had a feeling he didn't _want _to know what Naruto experienced in there.

Upon arriving at the council chambers, Tsunade and Jiraiya simply walked in; they found the council in the midst of a meeting. Tsunade took her seat, which had remained empty ever since she left. Everyone in the room nodded to her. Jiraiya stood in the front of the room, watching the proceedings carefully. No one paid him any mind.

After finishing the ongoing debate, Shikaku Nara turned to Tsunade, deciding it would be more trouble than it was worth to put off bringing up what they all knew she was there to hear. "Lady Tsunade, I am glad to see you have returned to the village. It has been decided amongst us here assembled to name you as the Fifth Hokage," he said simply, not wanting to go to the trouble of saying more than was necessary.

Tsunade, who had been sitting with her elbows on the table and her fingers knit in front of her face, responded simply, "Impossible. I refuse." She shot a look at Jiraiya, letting him know to keep his mouth shut, then refocused her attention on the council at large. "I've never had any interest in leading this or any village, and what I see now is doing nothing to change my mind."

"And what is it you see now, Princess Tsunade?" Danzo Shimura asked. The bandaged man, who sat near the head of the table used for council discussions, was watching Tsunade carefully, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.

"I see a village run by a council with a figurehead Hokage who died to protect the very village that usurped his power," she answered. "It's a fool's game, even more so than I thought before, and I've no interest in it." Tsunade's gaze seemed to be sweeping the council room carelessly, but, in truth, she was watching everyone with even more intent focus than Danzo was watching her.

From the head of the table, near where Danzo himself was, two elderly figures sputtered in outrage. Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who had once been Hiruzen Sarutobi's teammates and then advisors, seemed to have lost the ability to speak temporarily due to their ire. Koharu recovered herself first and snarled at Tsunade. "We have done nothing of the kind. Our purpose has always been to advise the Hokage and to take care of trifling matters that are not worth our esteemed leader's direct attention," she said.

Tsunade grinned behind her hands. _"Thought as much,"_ she told herself. "I didn't ask what the council's purpose was, Koharu," she said blandly. "I said what it has done."

Homura regained his composure and asked Tsunade, "In that case, what would you have the council do if you were Hokage, Lady Tsunade?"

"I would have them do what Koharu just said, Homura," she answered simply. "Only what they are supposed to do and nothing more. Oh, and since when was it the council's place to judge what is and is not worthy of the Hokage's direct attention?"

Homura thought about that a moment, then responded with a question of his own. "Should we not employ our wisdom and experience in any way we can to aid the Hokage?" he asked.

"Of course you should," Tsunade responded, "but you should do so in the way that your Hokage directs you."

"Which is what we have always done, Lady Tsunade," Koharu interjected. "What you call usurping the power of the Hokage is, in truth, following his orders."

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Shibi Aburame spoke up. "There is much logic in Lady Tsunade's words," he said. "We have overstepped our bounds on occasion. However, there is also logic in Lady Koharu and Lord Homura's words. We were ordered by our former leader to use our own judgment to determine what should and should not be sent to him."

Shikaku Nara sighed. "This is such a drag," he said, "but I have to say that we as a council have far overstepped our bounds on more than one occasion, even overriding the Hokage at times when we felt it was necessary. While it is true that he would often change his mind after hearing us, there were also times where we were rather forceful in our methods of changing his policies."

Tsunade carefully kept her grin hidden behind her hands. _"Exactly as I thought,"_ she thought triumphantly. Lowering her hands, she told the council, "You have changed my mind. I will be Hokage, but I can assure you there will be some changes in the infrastructure of this village very, very soon." That said, she rose from her seat and left the room, Jiraiya following behind her. They left behind them a stunned Danzo and two very worried advisors.

Shikaku sighed again, shaking his head. "Why do I get the feeling my life is about to become a lot more of a pain in the near future?" he asked rhetorically.

"It is a logical conclusion that both you and I will have a heavier workload in the future," Shibi responded, adjusting his glasses briefly. Turning his attention to Koharu and Homura, he added, "And that theirs will be much lighter."

xxxxxx

Tsunade made her way back to the hospital and rejoined Shizune. The two together then made their way around the various rooms. They checked on Kakashi, whom Tsunade awakened much as she had Naruto. Kakashi seemed to be taking the whole experience much better than his student, though. Then they made their way to Lee's room, where Guy met them. Guy was rather subdued as he watched the two expert medics examine his student.

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Guy asked worriedly. Ever since the boy had been wounded in his fight against Gaara, Guy had been deeply worried about his future as a ninja. Even though the boy had refused to stop training as much as he could with his wounded arm and leg, Guy knew that some injuries just wouldn't heal themselves. He also knew that if Tsunade couldn't help Lee, no one could.

Tsunade could tell from the way Guy was watching her and the ridiculous similarity in Lee's apparel and appearance to Guy's own that this was more than a student to the green-clad Jonin. After her first examination, she knew that only she had any chance of helping this boy at all. His entire body would have to be stimulated at once to heal the damage he had sustained, and there was only a 50% chance that it would work even then. And if it failed, she knew he would die. Turning to Lee, she said seriously, "You should give up on life as a ninja."

Guy was stunned by this. "Are you saying you can't help him?!" he asked. If even the greatest medic in the world couldn't help, Guy was certain no one could.

"Well, no, not quite," Tsunade replied. "There is a chance I can help him, but it's a 50/50 shot at best, and, if something goes wrong, he'll die. It's better that he just gives up on life as a ninja now, so he can live as well as he can."

Lee was clearly devastated by this. The boy looked away from his sensei and Tsunade and made his way out of the room. Tsunade held Guy back a minute. "Yes, Lady Tsunade?" Guy asked hesitantly.

"I can tell you see that boy as more than just a student, Guy. It falls to you to advise him, I see that. As I said, there is at best a 50% chance of the surgery being successful, and that's only if I'm doing it. If anyone else were to attempt it, he'd die for sure. I'm willing to try, but it has to be his decision, and you know the risk," she told him seriously.

Guy simply nodded and departed. He had a student to advise and cheer up, if that was even possible. Tsunade sighed, then wandered the halls of the hospital until she met up with Shizune. The two of them then sought out Jiraiya, whom they found waiting on a bench outside the hospital. The three of them then made their way to the old Senju home. They needed a private place to make plans, and the place technically belonged to Tsunade now.

xxxxxx

Hinata shivered. She had listened intently as Naruto told her what had happened to him in Itachi's genjutsu. Naruto had spared her some of the worst parts, and he hadn't given her a lot of detail, but she now had at least an idea of what had happened to him. Naruto said quietly, "I'll never forget what he told me...he said that you had saved me from his worst tortures. That's what I was thanking you for when I first woke up...and I want you to know I really owe you a lot for that."

Hinata sighed. "You don't owe me anything, Naruto," she said back. "You have done so much for me over the years, that anything I do for you now is simply an attempt to pay back what I already owe you." Naruto looked at her, confused. "Do you remember the little girl you saved from a bunch of bullies just before you entered the Academy?" Naruto nodded. "That was me. You saved me that day. And ever since then, it has been your smile that has kept me going, your determination that has shown me the right way to go, and your example that has been my inspiration. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be a ninja." Shaking her head slightly, she finished, "Actually, if it weren't for you, I might not even be alive. So, really, anything I ever do for you is nothing more than me paying you back what I owe you."

Naruto shook his head, realizing in wonder that he had hardly ever heard Hinata say that much. "All the same, Hinata, I'm grateful," he said simply. Laying back, he added softly, "I think I'm going to try to get some sleep. Will you stay with me, Hinata?"

Hinata nodded and took his hand gently into her own. "Of course I will, Naruto," she said. "I'll always be here for you from now on." Naruto gave her hand a grateful squeeze and closed his eyes. Within moments, he was asleep. Hinata remained where she was, occasionally squeezing or stroking Naruto's hand. _"Yes, I will be here for him from now on,"_ she thought to herself. _"That's a promise, Naruto. And once a promise is made, I never break it. That is _our_ ninja way."_

xxxxxx

Jiraiya, Shizune, and Tsunade were sitting around a large table in the old Senju home. Tsunade had her hands knitted together in front of her face, as she had during the council meeting, Jiraiya was leaning backward a bit, and Shizune was watching Tsunade intently. "So, Tsunade, what now?" Jiraiya asked after a few moments.

"Well, first off, I'm going to force Sensei's old teammates to retire," she began. "They have long since outlived their time, and it's time they realized it. I'll leave it up to them whether they continue their lives as ninja or not, but their time as advisors is over. After the council meeting, I'm sure even you can guess who their replacements will be."

Jiraiya nodded. "Shikaku and Shibi are good choices. Shikaku may be the typical lazy bum of the Nara clan, but he's absolutely brilliant, and Shibi may have the emotional range of one of his bugs, but at least you won't have to worry about him losing his cool under pressure. What about the rest of the council?"

Tsunade chuckled. "Today was just to feel them out. I'll do a bit more digging in the near future, and the members of the council will find out just what it means to mess with the Hokage. As for the members who will align with me and those who truly wish to aid me, they'll keep their positions, but their authority will be minimized to some extent. And if I find out that any of them had a hand in making Naruto's young life worse..." she trailed off, unable to articulate what she would do to them. The look on her face at the thought, however, promised them great pain indeed.

Shizune decided to speak up then. "And what about me, Lady Tsunade?" she asked.

"You will be my eyes and ears, Shizune," Tsunade answered. "No one on the council knows you, nor have they associated you with me, so they won't check their words with you around so long as they don't know who you are to me. As such, you will be of great assistance in finding out which council member thinks what and which are aligned with me and which with Danzo. Of course, this is a temporary issue, and, once it is resolved, I hope you will remain with me as my assistant."

Shizune bowed. "Of course I will, Lady Tsunade. It's what Uncle Dan would want," she said simply.

Tsunade stepped over to Shizune and rested a hand on her shoulder. Shizune looked up at her long-time mistress questioningly. "For right now, however, I want you to head back to the hospital and keep an eye on Naruto. Let me know immediately if something happens or if he seems to be getting worse," she said, a gentle smile on her face.

Shizune smiled a bit in return, then said, "It'd be an honor." She then bowed again and left, her steps purposeful.

xxxxxx

Even as Tsunade was making plans, the council was discussing the current situation. "The jinchuriki has gone through a very mentally taxing experience," Danzo said. "If he is not worked with extensively, he could easily turn against the village or even attack us. We must not let this happen. I feel there is no one better than me to take over his training and education at this point. I will turn him into the perfect weapon for Konoha. I will make him what he should have been from the beginning."

"There is some logic to what you say," Shibi said after a moment, "but the boy is no weapon, he is a person, you must remember this."

"Are we as ninja not all simply weapons of our masters?" Danzo responded. "We are all people, yes, this is true, but we ninja are all meant to be weapons in the hands of our superiors. It is what we train for and what we are meant to be."

Hiashi Hyuga, Hinata's father, spoke from his position. "Even though that may be the case," he said, "should we not first concern ourselves with the boy's mental condition and with making sure he is not going to align himself with the demon within him?"

"Of course we should," Danzo answered. "And my training facilities are the best place for this to be accomplished."

Shibi adjusted his glasses in thought. "It may be that that is true. Your facilities are isolated and well-guarded. We could all keep an eye on him more easily in such an environment. All the same, your training methods have often been called into question," he said.

"That may be true, but no one here can question my loyalty to this village," Danzo said back. Several heads nodded, granting that that much, at least, was true. "If anyone can cultivate loyalty to Konoha in the boy, I believe I can."

"Let us put it to a vote," Shibi said. Everyone agreed to that. "All those in favor of sending Naruto to Danzo for special training and rehabilitation, raise your hands." A large portion of the room did so. Shibi sent a certain type of his bugs to those, then recollected them. "All those opposed, raise your hands." The remainder of the people in the room did so. A different type of bugs flew to them, then back to Shibi, who would count the number of each type later. He knew the numbers would be close, but he had the feeling that he knew which side was going to win...and he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it.

A/N: Dun dun dun! Yeah, another cliffhanger, I know, I'm mean. But really, this chapter has taken so much out of me to write it that I just had to end it like that. Hope you all enjoyed and will stick with me until next chapter.


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